Everyone seems to have their core causes that they wish to fight for. Whether it's racism or feminism or even something more specific like feeling that you represent a certain religion or identifying as part of a specific culture, or even your sexuality. This isn't necessarily a negative thing, but it can become self consuming when that seems to be your sole purpose in life and you find ways to relate everything back to it. A simple common daily activity like picking up your morning coffee- when you know the coffee person treated you a certain way which you picked up by the tone of their voice or how another person did or did not cut in front of you in line. And you analyse and relate it back to your internal struggles and somehow align things to be in your favour, to prove your point. I'm not at all these incidents, and even if I was I do not know what everyone is thinking so I cannot comment on whether these things are intentional. Or whether there is any basis to them. But I feel it drains a person and even can become tiresome to those around you when every simple action has an ulterior motive.
Sometimes the little old white lady at the canteen just needs a new hearing aid and sincerely can't understand my lunch order and that facial expression she just pulled was her trying to focus on lip reading as well. She probably has a million things on her mind like how is she going to pay for said new hearing aid or her husbands treatment costs who has just been diagnosed with prostate cancer rather than why is this hijabi female working out here in our community. The same goes for all those other minorities that feel victimised. Not everything is about us. How self centred does a person have to be to truly believe that the universe revolves around them? Yes it's the right thing to be aware that these scenarios exist and that these minorities are discriminated against on a regular basis and it feels awful to be at the receiving end but 1) life goes on 2) not everyone is out to get you. So you can put down your banner and go on with living your life. Yes be aware and yes stand up for what you believe in. Not everything is a battle to prove yourself.
Using culture and sexuality as two examples in the same piece of writing might be a little strange but these are two examples that I am seeing at the moment as people using as identification labels. Two different people I might add! And I feel they both meet the same criteria. There is more to life than fighting for your cause and there are multiple causes out there. I expect an argument to my point being that each person has a cause that they identify with and each cause needs supporters and spoke people and attention to be drawn towards it, which I don't disagree but when it becomes all consuming this is when I start to question your judgement. An identity does not need these crutches. Yes I'm calling them crutches because I don't like how dependant people become relying on them rather than their own back bone. Then the other side of the coin is- am I supporting the concept of individualism and selfishness.... There has gotta be a middle ground!
Thanks for getting through my 4 am post on a weekday rant. I've impressed myself for getting this done while on my phone. Hopefully the next one I will be back to my normal self:)
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